Program-controlled communications systems are arrangements for the setting up and tearing down communications connections from and to communications terminal devices that are connected to respective communications system. Program-controlled communications systems also support other performance features during or outside of a communications connection. These communications systems are usually connected with further communications systems via public or private networks. A communications system of this type is described in European letters patent EP 0 347 644 B1.
In such a communications system, one or several programs are used that have components for the initialization of the communications system and for controlling the functions of the communications system, as well as application-specific components. These programs are loaded into memories of the communications system and, together with the at least one processor module allocated to the respective communications system, bring about the predetermined sequence of functions of the communications system.
However, through errors in the programs used, as well as through errors due to incompatibility of different program versions or databases, there are sporadic disturbances in the operation of the communications system. These errors, referred to as software residual errors, can be allocated to one or several programs and can be removed by exchanging the one or several programs. Furthermore, errors caused by switching-oriented factors, or errors not removable through program replacement, may also appear. In the communications system, after each appearance of an error an error message is generated and logged.
Furthermore, it is generally known that upon appearance of an error a communications system sets up a connection to a service center, and an error message is transmitted to the service center. In this service center, which functions as a "clearing house," the error message is displayed, and a removal of the error is manually initiated by an operator. For the errors that can be removed by the replacement of at least one of the programs in use in the faulty communications system, this means that the programs provided for the removal of the error must be chosen and supplied to the communications system. Previously, this took place through an exchange of the memory disk on location, that is at the communications system. The effectiveness of this service center is dependent on the continuous presence of an operator, and has the further consequence of a delay of the error removal due to the reaction time of the operator and the introduction of the transmission of the program.